"Ayaka?"
"Though elder brother told me not to climb the mountain, the commotion just now was far too great. At the Grand Narukami Shrine… what exactly happened here?"
A portion of the mountaintop had collapsed. Several torii along the shrine's path lay broken. The air reeked of scorched ozone left by lightning. Fresh blood stained the ground. A corpse of a white-haired man lay with both abdomen and heart pierced through. Another large man had no visible wounds, yet his eyes were vacant. Scattered about were several purple-haired, purple-eyed figures—eerily resembling the Raiden Shogun—yet were clearly lifeless… puppets?
From their torn skin, and from the others that hadn't even been given skin, they were likely all of the same series.
"Help… help me…"
One puppet stared blankly at the sky. Its lips trembled faintly, as if calling for help.
"Haa… Ayaka, Thoma, Sayu, you've really helped us greatly. These people are in league with those who attacked the Kamisato estate. They sought to damage the Grand Narukami Shrine, challenging the Shogun's authority."
Sayu?
Where was Sayu?
Victor Wang scanned the area but found no trace of her.
"But the enemies have all been dealt with. No need to worry. Hand Victor over to me—you all may return."
"Cough… though I can't climb the mountain, walking on flat ground is still fine…"
Before Kamisato Ayato could take him from Thoma's arms, Victor Wang struggled to stand on his own.
No way—being carried once was enough. It wasn't gender bias, but for a man to be princess-carried by another man felt far too strange.
"Brother…?"
"This is not a realm you need to tread. Once you return, forget everything that happened tonight," Kamisato Ayato shook his head, halting Ayaka's questions.
"…I understand. But brother, you must also stay safe."
Aside from what Ayaka had seen, the shrine had grown calm. The shrine maidens here had weathered storms before. And even if they hadn't—what they had just witnessed was enough. Yae Miko, back in her human form, had warned them not to gossip before immediately checking on the Sacred Sakura.
Beidou sat casually on the steps at the shrine entrance, resting. When Ayaka and Thoma descended, she asked Kazuha, "What about that thing?"
"It fled."
"Heh, it truly excels at running away."
"A shame Yasen is dead, or we could've pried out much information."
"I doubt he would've spoken. With abilities like that, even capturing him would've been a headache. His death spares us further trouble."
"True enough."
Beidou then turned to Ayato. "So, communications in Inazuma should be restored now, yes?"
"Likely." Staring at the puppets, hearing their weak murmurs of "help me," Ayato sighed. "But where have those already missing gone…?"
"Yasen captured twenty-one people. Ten of them… are trapped within these ten puppets. Their bodies should be in Inazuma City, beside the Furuya Makoto's house…"
"Trapped… in these puppets?!"
"That's what Yasen told me. He said it as if it were a game. I doubt he lied."
Victor Wang clenched his teeth. The pain in half his body stirred awake again. His heart jolted sharply, metallic blood rising to his throat.
Breathing carefully, he forced the rage to settle. Hunched, he sat beside the Chief Instructor, who looked even more puppet-like than the puppets themselves. With Venti's promise, the Chief Instructor could yet be healed. But these puppets…
The others fell into silence. At length, someone asked, "How do we turn them back?"
"Yasen never said…"
Kazuha closed his eyes.
Beidou pressed a fist against her brow.
Ayato sighed once more, heavy with helplessness and pity. After a moment's thought, he gathered all eleven puppets, counting Shigetsu among them.
Perhaps hearing their words, one puppet mustered its strength to whisper, "Help… help me… I… don't want to die…"
"How could Shigetsu manipulate a puppet perfectly? Even if they can't return to their original bodies, at least… tch…"
"You think these are ordinary puppets? They were made to house gods. Ordinary minds cannot control them."
Though her true body bore wounds, in her human guise Yae Miko appeared flawless. She strode slowly from the shrine.
"And besides—I won't allow these puppets to remain in the world."
"Yae-sama…?"
"Such dangerous things must be destroyed. However…" She crouched by a bald puppet, gently patting its head. "Did Ei really make one this ugly? She must have just been practicing. Don't tell me she once thought of taking on a bald look?"
"Y-Yae… sama… I… missed… my draft…"
"Oh! It's you?" Yae Miko blinked in surprise, rubbing the bald head twice more.
"Don't… forget… me…"
"Sorry, little one. Too many authors delay manuscripts for Yae Publishing. Now, with this face not yours, this voice not yours, and you not giving me a name—I've no idea who you are."
"My… name…"
The puppet tried to speak further, but Yae Miko had already risen and walked away.
"Only the one who tied the knot can untie it. Since Ei created these puppets, and even transferred her own will into the Raiden Shogun, she may know how to free these mortals' souls—assuming their bodies still exist."
"Ei?"
"Don't you understand? Mm… Simply put, find their bodies. I'll seek out the puppet's creator. We'll see if they can be restored."
"But you just said the Raiden Shogun?" Ayato tested cautiously.
"What, are you afraid? She does understand reason, though she clings to her ideals with childlike stubbornness. Since this mess stems from her mismanagement, she should bear responsibility."
Make the Raiden Shogun answer for this?
Having lived through the Raiden Gokaden incident, which nearly ruined their clan, and seeing a dear friend fall to Musou no Hitotachi, both Ayato and Kazuha wore furrowed brows.
By strength and by power, she was Inazuma's undisputed number one. Even as her kin, in these days of the Sakoku Decree and the Vision Hunt, could they really manage it?
Catching their doubts in their expressions, Yae Miko sighed inwardly. Ei, Ei… see how the people view you now.
She then shifted the subject. "As much as I'd like Ei to bear it, I haven't spoken with her in centuries. And since I was the one who taught her how to anchor consciousness into objects, I suppose I must take responsibility instead."
"Is that possible?" The others, though confused, sensed her gravity.
"Bring me their bodies swiftly. Once my strength returns, I'll attempt to restore their consciousness. Only then will we destroy these puppets. But that empty one—please destroy it now."
That was the puppet Shigetsu once inhabited. Though Yae Miko had already torn its flesh earlier, it remained the most complete, the most powerful of them all.
"Wait! Can we keep this one?"
At Victor Wang's words, Beidou, Kazuha, Ayato, and Yae Miko all turned to look.
"Oh my, you're not planning to do anything indecent, are you? I thought your tastes leaned toward burly women. Or has this puppet's resemblance to the Shogun won you over?"
The others' gazes sharpened instantly. Still, the puppet was stunning… understandable.
"Hah? W-what nonsense are you spouting!"
"I meant—I thought you planned to control it. Cross-dressing and gender-swapping—classic light novel tropes! Was I wrong?"
The others' looks shifted again. Kazuha coughed lightly. Ayato smiled faintly and turned away, feigning ignorance. Beidou clicked her tongue inwardly. These youngsters… such peculiar games these days.
"It's not for me to use!"
"Oh? You mean for someone else? Then sorry—if it were for yourself, given your battle performance, I'd permit it. But for another? Absolutely not."
One puppet had already become a Fatui Harbinger, wreaking havoc everywhere. This puppet, though lacking self-awareness, had nearly caused disaster. Yae Miko longed to see them all destroyed.
Victor Wang inhaled deeply. "Don't refuse so quickly. If a pure spirit could be transferred into this puppet—could you do it?"
"…You want to resurrect someone? The spirit would have to be exceptionally strong. A mere ghost born of regret after death wouldn't suffice. Don't delude yourself… life and death follow their cycles."
"But you can do it, right?"
"I'm not joking, little one," Yae Miko's eyes narrowed. "If you want it, I'll grant you this puppet. But for another? Impossible."
"It's the fox shrine maiden of Konda Village. She guarded the Sacred Sakura. Perhaps you know her. If she wills it, and the conditions are right—could she inhabit this puppet?"
"That self-styled 'Earth Kitsune' shrine maiden…?"
"Meet her. Then decide."